Tag: Northern California

Forestiera neomexicana

Botanical Name : Forestiera neomexicana
Family: Oleaceae
Tribe: Oleeae
Genus: Forestiera
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Synonyms : F. pubescens glabrifolia. Adelia neo-mexicana.

Common Name : Wild Olive

Habitat : Forestiera neomexicana is native to South-western N. America – Texas to New Mexico, west to California. It grows on dry slopes and ridges below 2000 metres.

Description:
Forestiera neomexicana is a upright spiny branching deciduous perennial Shrub growing to 3 m (9ft 10in).It blooms before grayish-green foliage emerges. Leaves mature to bright green and contrast beautifully with one-year-old black bark. Small, attractive black berries appear in autumn.

It is in flower from Apr to May, and the seeds ripen from Jul to September. Flower color is yellow. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant)Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
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Cultivation:
Succeeds in most soils. Requires a sunny position and a well-drained soil. Tolerates dry sites. Flowers are produced in the axils of the previous years leaves. Plants do not fruit well in Britain, probably due to a lack of sunshine.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Easy. Cuttings of mature wood, November to February in a frame or sheltered outdoor bed.
Edible Uses: Fruit. Although only 4 – 8mm long, it has been suggested as a substitute for the true olive, Olea europaea.
Medicinal Uses: Miscellany.

Other Uses: Plants growing in the wild are used as indicators of underground water. Common uses for New Mexico Forestiera are in shrub borders, native plantings, hedges, xeriscapes and as an accent. They can be pruned into a small tree. This plant is ideal for the environment of New Mexico because it requires little water or shade to survive. It is known to be a low maintenance plant.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forestiera
http://www.finegardening.com/new-mexico-privet-forestiera-neomexicana
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Forestiera+neomexicana
http://aces.nmsu.edu/pes/lowwaterplants/new-mexico-forestiera.html

Tags Agriculture, California, New Mexico, Northern California, Petroleum, PH, San Francisco Chronicle, San Joaquin County, Soil, Soil contamination, Texas

Herbs & Plants

Osmunda claytoniana

Botanical Name :Osmunda claytoniana
Family: Osmundaceae
Genus: Osmunda
Section: Claytosmunda
Species: O. claytoniana
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida /Pteridopsida (disputed)
Order: Osmundales

Synonyms: Osmunda interrupta.

Common Name : Interrupted Fern

Habitat : Osmunda claytoniana is native to E. Asia – China, Japan, Himalayas. Eastern N. America. It grows on wet places in C. Japan. Open slopes, rarely in forests, 2800 – 3300 metres in Kashmir.

In eastern North America it occurs in: the Great Lakes region; eastern Canada – in southern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec (north to tree line); and east to Newfoundland; eastern United States – upper New England south through the Appalachian Mountains and Atlantic seaboard, into the Southeastern United States in Georgia and Alabama; and west across the Southern United States to Mississippi River, and back up the Mississippi embayment through the Midwestern United States to the Great Lakes.
Description:
Osmunda claytoniana is a fern. It’s fronds are bipinnate, 40–100 cm (16–39 in) tall and 20–30 cm (8–12 in) broad, the blade formed of alternate segments forming an arching blade tightening to a pointed end. The lower end is also slightly thinner than the rest of the frond because the first segments are shorter. Three to seven short, cinnamon-colored fertile segments are inserted in the middle of the length, giving the plant its name.

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In their absence, the plant in all its stages appears similar to Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (cinnamon fern). The base of the segments distinguishes the two species: where O. cinnamomeum has typical felt-like hairs, the few hairs present on O. claytoniana are extremely short, usually requiring a magnifying glass to see well.

Like other species in the family Osmundaceae, it grows a very large rhizome, with persistent stipe bases from previous years. It forms small, dense colonies, spreading locally through its rhizome, and often forming fairy rings
Cultivation:
Likes a soil of swamp mud and loamy or fibrous peat, sand and loam. Succeeds in most moist soils, preferring acid conditions. Requires a constant supply of water, doing well by ponds, streams etc. Plants thrive in full sun so long as there is no shortage of moisture in the soil and also in shady situations beneath shrubs etc. Requires a shady position. Plants are hardy to at least -20°c, they are evergreen in warm winter areas but deciduous elsewhere. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer. A very ornamental plant.

Propagation:
Spores – they very quickly lose their viability (within 3 days) and are best sown as soon as they are ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil in a lightly shaded place in a greenhouse. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. Plants develop very rapidly, pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and keep humid until they are well established. Do not plant outside until the ferns are at least 2 years old. Cultivars usually come true to type. Division of the rootstock in the dormant season. This is a very strenuous exercise due to the mass of wiry roots.

Edible Uses:
The young fronds are eaten. Cooked as a vegetable. The centre of the clump, below ground level, is the source of a small edible pith called ‘fernbutter’

Unlike those of the ostrich fern, the interrupted fern’s fiddleheads are not readily edible, due to their bitter taste and a tendency to cause diarrhea. The base of the stipe and very young buds are edible. Overuse may kill the crown.
Medicinal Uses: The roots are used as an adulterant for Dryopteris felix-mas in the treatment of internal worms.Resources The Iroquois used the plant as treatment for blood disorders and venereal diseases.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmunda_claytoniana
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Osmunda+claytoniana

History – Author D.B. Hall (creativetalentsunleashed.com)
When You Are a Priestess, Wherever You Go, There You Are (hecatedemeter.wordpress.com)
A Saturday Night dance (blueridgemuse.com)
The Cuckoo (or The Coo Coo) (27thstreet.me)
“Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got” (thelocaltouristnz.com)
Heavy rain possible over parts of the Eastern Gulf Coast (wyff4.com)
Heavy rain possible over parts of the Eastern Gulf Coast (wdsu.com)
A traditional alchemy > Bluegrass veteran Tim O’Brien and Irish folk luminaries Lúnasa join forces. (newsreview.com)
Bristol artist’s work featured at Dolly’s DreamMore Resort (wcyb.com)

Tags Appalachian Mountains, Clawhammer, Dolly Parton, Great Plains, Gulf Coast of the United States, Llano Estacado, London, Mississippi River, Northern California, Pacific Northwest

Herbs & Plants

Alkali Seaheath

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Botanical Name : Frankenia salina
Family: Frankeniaceae
Genus: Frankenia
Species: F. salina
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Caryophyllales

Common Names:alkali heath or alkali seaheath

Habitat ;Alkali Seaheath is native to California. It is occasionally found in Nevada and Mexico, but its range is limited. It is uncommon even in the region where it is most likely to be found, just north of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Description:
It is a squat flowering bush that forms a twiggy thicket near beaches and coastal salt marshes. Its common name refers to its preference for alkaline soils, a halophyte. It has the ability to excrete salt as an adaptation for living in saline habitats. The flowers are pink or fuchsia in color.

You may click to see the pictures:

Medicinal Uses:
Used both internally and by injection or spray, for catarrhal diseases and other discharges from the mucous membranes, diarrhea, vaginal leucorrhea, gonorrhea, and gleet, and the different types of catarrh. The tea is a reliable astringent to reduce inflammation of the alimentary tract, from mouth sores to the intestines, relieving diarrhea and soothing piles and hemorrhoids. It is an effective douche for vaginal inflammation.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenia_salina
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bakersfield/Programs/atwell_island/atwellplantlist/frankenia_salina.print.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Frankenia_salina

Tags American City Business Journals, Associated Press, Business and Economy, California, Facebook, Flash flood, Golden Gate Bridge, KSBY, Metro Areas, Mexico, Nevada, Northern California, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, United States

News on Health & Science

Big bellies mean greater risk to heart

Post author By Mukul
Post date December 28, 2006
No Comments on Big bellies mean greater risk to heart

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The more your belly sticks out, the greater your risk of developing heart disease, a new study shows……....CLICK & SEE

“The message is really obesity in the abdomen matters even more than obesity overall,” said Carlos Iribarren of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California.

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Iribarren and his team tested whether sagittal abdominal diameter, or SAD, which is the distance from the back to the upper abdomen midway between the top of the pelvis and the bottom of the ribs, would improve the accuracy of BMI (body mass index) in predicting heart disease risk.

Men with the largest SAD were 42% more likely to develop heart disease during follow-up compared to those with the smallest SAD, while a large SAD increased heart disease risk by 44% for women.

Source:The Times Of India